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by orphan_account



Series: Hearts as Loud as Lions [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, pre SWCYH
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-08
Updated: 2016-12-08
Packaged: 2018-09-07 07:00:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8788135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: According to Animal Planet, “[W]hen you're pregnant, all the hormones flooding your body are likely to alter your scent somehow. Not much gets by the canine nose, so there's a chance your dog caught wind of a change in you -- maybe even before you did.” (http://www.animalplanet.com/pets/do-dogs-know-when-i-am-pregnant/) So the wolf smelled the change in Raynia (Raynia’s pregnant, she just didn’t realize it yet), which is why it was acting so weird. Raynia suddenly smelled like a wolf cub, which is why the wolf didn’t attack.





	

“Begin training level five,” Raynia said. Her chest heaved and sweat dripped into her eyes; she wiped her forehead with her sleeve while the holographic robot disappeared and the countdown for the next level began.

It’d been two weeks since they’d gotten the training room set up on the base, but tonight was the first time Raynia had been able to find time to use it. She’d meant to use it that morning, when her duties were less pressing, but yet another bout of nausea had kept her curled up in bed until she absolutely _had_ to get up. (And then, for the third time in a week, she’d forced herself up, clenching her fists and hoping she didn't throw up all over anyone until the nausea passed at around lunch time. _Probably just something I ate_ she’d thought, though it was getting a little bit more difficult to dismiss it when it kept happening.)

The countdown neared completion, and Raynia gripped her twin swords and assumed a defensive stance.

“Commander Raynia,” a voice crackled over the speakers. The countdown froze, and Raynia sighed.

“Go ahead,” she replied, just barely keeping the irritated edge from her voice.

“Commander, several of our generators are malfunctioning again.” That was Lieutenant Arin, probably calling from the main control room. “The main one refuses to reboot, and we suspect it needs a commander override. Requesting your assistance.”

“Coming,” Raynia said, sheathing her swords and unbuckling the blades from her back. She chucked the swords across the room with more force than was necessary. “Why can’t Jax do it?” she muttered.

“He’s here, but he’s not medically cleared until tomorrow,” Arin replied, and Raynia cringed, not realizing the channel was still open.

 “I’ll be there in a minute,” Raynia replied, grabbing her jacket and hurrying out of the room.

She arrived in the control room a few minutes later to find Arin sitting at the main console and Jax standing behind him. Jax stood with arms crossed, his impatience almost radiating like steam. He’d been sick for the past week and a half with a nasty cough, and though he’d improved remarkably in the last few days, their Chief Medical Officer still refused to let him outside in the cold air for longer than ten minutes.

“Good of you to join us, Commander,” he said drily when he spied Raynia. Raynia nodded once at him and turned her attention to the console, knowing without a doubt he’d heard her complaining. He’d be outside already if he could, she knew, and she also knew she’d inadvertently rubbed salt in the wound by grumbling. _Oops._

“It’s definitely the main generator,” Arin said. “It keeps dropping to fifty percent, forcing the others to compensate. If it drops out completely, the others can cover it, but only for a few hours before they too go out.”

“Right,” Raynia nodded.

“We’ve already sent runners out to inspect the other generators,” Jax said. “They should be reporting in a few minutes.”

“All right,” Raynia said, grabbing a communicator and sticking the earpiece in her ear. She zipped her jacket up and strode towards the door, pulling on her gloves as she did so.

“Commander,” Jax called. Raynia turned, and Jax withdrew his blaster and tossed it to her, his eyes stern. Raynia nodded her thanks and turned away quickly before he could see her cheeks burning. She’d left her blaster in the training room, and had been about to go outside alone and unarmed. Not exactly a smart thing to do at night, or in general, for anyone.

Raynia holstered the blaster and stepped out into the moonlight. The cold wind hit her the second she left the building. It actually felt good, cooling her off from her workout. But she knew better than to think the pleasantness would last—her shirt was still all sweaty, and the wind would make the damp chill almost unbearable if she stood still for too long. So she rolled her shoulders and broke into a run.

Several minutes later, her breaths fast and strong, her boots crunching over the dried leaves, she rounded a bend and reached the main generator. It wasn’t lit like it should have been, and Raynia slowed to a stop, drawing her flashlight from her pocket.

“I’m here,” she said into her communicator, hoping Arin would be on the other end.

“Acknowledged,” Jax’s voice responded, and Raynia bit back a sigh. But to her slight relief, he didn’t sound as testy as he’d looked earlier.

“What do you see?” he continued.

“I don’t see any damage,” Raynia replied, walking around the generator. “The light’s off, but it’s still going.”

“Sensors indicate it’s back to running at only fifty percent,” Jax said.

Raynia opened up the maintenance hatch and looked at the display. “Yep, that’s what it says over here, too. Beginning commander override. Standby to reboot.”

“Copy that,” Jax replied.

Raynia palmed the scanner, then put her flashlight in her mouth and used both hands to input the commands on the touch-screen keyboard. The computer ran slow, and she often had to wait for it to process the commands before she could proceed to the next sequence.

“Are you almost done?” Jax asked.

Raynia took the flashlight out of her mouth. “The system is running really slow. I’m only halfway there.”

“All right,” Jax replied, though Raynia caught the tight apprehension in his voice.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

“You keep dropping off the grid,” he said. “Only for a split second at a time, but I think the scanner out there is malfunctioning, too.”

“Weird. It should have gone to reserve power when the generator started going out,” Raynia replied. The computer finally processed her latest command, and she entered yet another series of codes. And then paused to wait for it to process _that._ A stronger gust of wind hit her, and she started to shiver, the warmth from her run long gone. “Come on, slowpoke,” she muttered at the computer.

“Raynia, can you please check the scanner when you’re done with the generator?” Jax asked.

Raynia’s mouth tightened. _Why? There’s nothing out here worth monitoring, besides me, and I’m fine on my own. I’ll be back inside in fifteen minutes, and we can fix it tomorrow._

“Raynia?”

She sighed. “Yes, I’ll check it out as soon as I’m done.”

“Good…You just dropped off the grid again…Uh oh. The scanner has completely gone out, Raynia. We can’t see you or anything around you.”

“I’ll let you know if something happens,” Raynia replied, finally getting to the last screen. She punched in her password and stepped back. The hum of the generator slowed to a stop, and the screen clicked off. Raynia stood still in the silence, the moonlight dimmed by passing clouds and her flashlight only barely adding any light. She squinted through the trees in the direction of the scanner. A red light blinked back at her, when it should have been glowing green.

“I’m going to check on the scanner,” Raynia said. Behind her, the generator started to power up with a low hum.

“Copy…Raynia…”

“You’re breaking up, Jax,” Raynia said, fiddling with her earpiece. She stepped through the brush and approached the tree where the scanner sat high in the branches. Wires snaked down through the brush, connecting it to the generator, but even though the generator behind her sounded like it was powering up just fine, the scanner continued to blink red.

The wind picked up, blowing branches in Raynia’s face and forcing her to shove them out of her way. She shivered, and pulled the collar of her jacket up over her mouth.

A branch snapped behind her, but she paid it no mind. She frowned up at the scanner, not relishing the idea of climbing up into the tree in the dark and the cold to try and get to it, especially not when the generator was still powering up and the scanner _might_ click back on at any second.

Another branch snapped, and Raynia glanced behind her. Her flashlight caught on some kind of large, hulking mass only a few feet away. The meager light flickered, but two gleaming yellow eyes shone menacingly back at her.

Raynia screamed, and the thing growled and lunged.

“Raynia??” Jax exclaimed through the static.

“Wolf!” Raynia gasped, plowing through the brush and struggling to draw her blaster. She finally got it free and half-turned as she ran, aiming at the huge wolf charging along behind her. She raised the blaster, squeezed the trigger—

Her foot caught on something and she fell hard on her back, her wind knocked out of her all in a rush. The shot went wildly off-target and her blaster flew from her hand, clattering just beyond where she landed. She gasped and pushed herself up on her elbows, looking back at the wolf.

It stood mere feet away, growling, its teeth bared. It took slow steps towards her, and Raynia tried to scramble back from it. But whatever had caught her foot remained painfully tight around her ankle. She’d stepped in a loop of thick metal wire, and it’d cinched up around her boot, too tight for her to even squeeze her foot out of her boot and get away. The wolf took two more steps forward, and Raynia reached desperately for her blaster, stretching out on her back, her injured foot straining against the trap.

But the blaster lay just a few inches from her outstretched fingertips.

The wolf stood over her, its breath hot, and Raynia cringed. Its yellow teeth snapped an inch from her face, and she threw her arms over her head and shut her eyes tight.

But the wolf paused, and its growling breaths turned to rapid sniffing. Its nose pressed against her arms, her side, her legs, her boots. Rayna dared a look at it, and it locked eyes with her, its head tilted. It snuffled her face, and Raynia almost gagged at its foul breath.

“Raynia! Are you okay?” Jax called. The wolf jerked its head back, growling, and Raynia snapped off her communicator. The cold ground seeped into her back, amplifying her trembling. The wolf continued to smell her, and Raynia remained frozen, not daring to move.

An unbearable amount of time passed, with the wolf pacing around Raynia, smelling her occasionally. She lay as still as she could, trembling and shivering, watching it while her ankle throbbed so bad it brought tears to her eyes. Its gray fur shone in the moonlight, and its paws—which were as big as her face—thudded almost silently against the frozen ground, only audible when it stepped near her head.

“Go on, n-now,” she whispered, her face so cold it was an effort to form the words properly. “Get o-on out of h-here.”

The wolf tilted its head at her, then did the unthinkable: it nuzzled her neck, almost fondly, it seemed. Raynia bit back a yelp, its breath warm against her skin.

Branches snapped then, and the wolf whirled and growled, crouching over Raynia. Its fur tickled her nose, and she squinted between its legs towards the sound. Several small lights flickered in the dark, revealing several of her troops led by Jax and Arin. They stepped into the clearing and paused. Arin drew his blaster, and Raynia’s breath caught in her throat.

“Don’t shoot it!” she choked out, realizing all at once that two hundred pounds of stinky wolf would most definitely crush her if Arin stunned it and it collapsed on her. The wolf growled again, snapping its teeth at them.

“Are you okay, Commander?” Arin called.

“My foot is stuck,” Raynia replied, her voice a frightened squeak. She swallowed. “What’s it _doing_?” she asked as the wolf stepped a bit closer to the group, no longer hiding her underneath it but still way too close for comfort.

“It looks like its protecting you...” Arin replied, a note of curiosity in his voice.

“Don’t fire at it,” Jax said, his voice calm and even. “At this range even a stun setting might kill it. Raynia? We’re going to get you out of there.”

The wolf took another growling step towards the group, and Raynia pushed herself up to a sitting position. She pulled on the metal cinched around her foot, but it refused to budge.

“Come… _on!_ ” she exclaimed under her breath. The wolf turned and looked at her, and Raynia froze.

“Don’t move, Commander,” Arin called softly, and the wolf turned back to him. Raynia noticed Jax had disappeared, and the wolf seemed totally focused on the others. It continued to growl and pace back and forth. Raynia noticed, though, that the second it seemed like it was about to turn its attention back to her, one of the other Deltans would make a sudden move—a step or a loud cough—jerking the wolf’s attention back to them.

Jax crept through the brush, suddenly to Raynia’s right. She jumped, and he held a finger to his lips. He found the release switch on the trap, and the metal loosened and Raynia threw it off her foot. Jax beckoned her towards him, and she started to push herself to her feet.

But her ankle gave out with a sharp bite of pain, and she clamped a hand over her mouth and dropped back to the ground. The wolf turned, and for a heart-stopping moment Raynia feared it’d seen Jax.

Arin fired his blaster into the air. The wolf whirled around, growling, its teeth bared. Raynia clenched her teeth and tried to half-scoot, half-crawl towards Jax. Jax crept towards her, meeting her halfway. The brush hid them partially, making it hard to see the others. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and tucked the other under the crook of her knees, getting ready to carry her.

The wolf rounded on them, its jaw snapping and its hackles raised. Blaster fire sounded behind them, and a shot zinged dangerously close to Raynia’s arm.

“Hold your fire!” Raynia cried. The wolf continued to approach, and Raynia shrank back against Jax’s chest.

“Steady,” Jax said to the wolf, his arms tightening around Raynia. But his voice remained gentle and controlled. “I’m not going to hurt her.”

The wolf snarled, and Raynia gripped Jax’s jacket. “He’s okay,” she said, her voice shaking. “H-he’s okay. It’s okay.”

“I’m not going to hurt her,” Jax said again. The wolf didn’t move, and Jax started to stand. The wolf growled and lunged a few steps forward. Jax froze. The wolf paced around them, growling and sniffing Jax.

“See?” Raynia said. “He…he’s fine.” Jax slowly straightened all the way, and the wolf paused. Raynia gulped.

But the wolf didn’t move again. Jax took a small step backwards. The wolf still didn’t move, so he took another step, and another. He stepped through the trees and brush, working his way back towards the group. Raynia craned her neck over her shoulder, and felt her heart thud in her throat when she saw the wolf following them.

“Don’t look at it,” Jax breathed, his voice tight.

Raynia ducked her head, her fists in a death grip on Jax’s jacket. They reached the group, and Jax beckoned them to follow with a jerk of his head. No one said anything, and Raynia dared not look behind them to see if the wolf was following them.

After several long minutes the lights of the base came into view. Jax glanced behind him, and Raynia peeked over his shoulder. Several other Deltans looked back as well, but the wolf was nowhere to be seen.

A howl sounded in the distance, and Raynia cringed.

“Run!” Jax ordered. The other Deltans crowded around him and Raynia, and they all burst into a run towards the base. Arin led the way, and threw open the door with a bang. He held it open for the others, then slammed it shut and palmed the lock, sealing them inside.

The wolf howled again, sending goosebumps prickling over Raynia’s arms as Jax set her down. The others hurried away towards the surveillance systems to see how many wolves there really were.

“Get everyone inside,” Raynia said to Arin. He nodded and strode over to a comm unit and hailed the entire base. Raynia continued to shiver, despite Jax’s arm still snug and warm around her shoulders. She glanced up at him, and caught the fearful look he cast back towards the door.

“That was way too close,”’ he said quietly, his arm tightening around her.

* * *

 

About an hour later, Raynia sat alone on a table in the infirmary, her left leg stretched out in front of her, her injured ankle wrapped in ice packs. She hugged her right knee to her chest, resting her chin on her knee. A headache had settled behind her eyes a few moments ago, and she massaged her temples.

Lieutenant Arin knocked on the door, and she glanced up. He stepped into the room, followed by Jax.

“Commander,” he said, saluting her with a fist over his chest. “I’ve done some research, and I think I know why the wolf was acting the way it did.” He paused, scratching the back of his head, and if Raynia had blinked she would have missed the smirk that snuck across Jax’s face for a split second. Her eyes narrowed.

“You remember the mother wolf and cubs we ran into a month ago?” Arin asked.

“Yes,” Raynia replied hesitantly.

“Well, I think that was the same mother wolf.”

“Okay...I don’t follow,” Raynia said. Jax coughed into his hand, just barely covering a small laugh. “What?” she demanded.

Arin glanced at Jax, who’d regained his composure in an instant. “Please continue, Lieutenant,” Jax said.

“Right,” Arin said, turning back to Raynia. “You see, the main way wolves recognize each other is through smell. And, uh…to that wolf out there…well, I think you smelled like her cub.”

“ _What?_ ” Raynia sputtered. Jax smirked and knelt to fix his boot, ducking out of the line of fire of the glare she shot him.

“Yes,” Arin said. “It’s admittedly very strange.” He shrugged. “We’ve never seen anything like it.”

Raynia gaped at him, and Jax straightened, his mirth successfully concealed.

“The thing is, Commander,” Arin continued, “had anyone else been out there, they likely would have been attacked. By going out there tonight, you may have inadvertently saved the life of someone else.”

Raynia remembered with a pang how she’d selfishly wanted Jax to go outside instead of her. She fought back a shudder, and nodded. “Thank you, Lieutenant.”

“We’ll have to find a better way to keep them away from the base,” Jax remarked. “Those traps aren’t proving to be very effective.”

“I’ll send word to Captain Thelev,” Arin replied. “He’s set to deliver us more supplies in a few weeks.” He saluted the commanders and left the room.

“I’m sorry, Jax,” Raynia said.

Jax cocked an eyebrow at her. “Almost getting eaten by a wolf is _not_ your fault,” he said, stepping closer.

“No, for earlier…” She shrugged. “Grumbling isn’t very professional, and I’ve kind of been doing that a lot lately.”

“Oh. Apology accepted.” He smiled warmly at her. “And I forgive you. How’s your foot?”

“It’s fine, it’s just sprained,” she replied. Jax sat near her on the table and hugged her. Raynia sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, hugging him back.

“You don’t smell like a wolf cub to me, Little One,” Jax said after a moment.

“Jax!” Raynia protested, exasperated. She pulled back and socked him on the arm. Jax laughed softly and kissed her forehead. He brushed a bit of hair out of her face, his smile melting into a concerned frown.

“Are you feeling okay?”’ he asked. “You haven’t really been acting like yourself lately.”

Raynia opened her mouth to contradict him, then shut it and looked away. _Nauseous in the mornings, headaches every other day, the most RANDOM things are frustrating me…_

A thought hit her, and she stiffened.

_No, no, it can’t be THAT. It can’t be…it’s NOT._

“Raynia?”

Raynia swallowed and shrugged. “I think I might be getting the cold that’s going around. That’s all.” But even she didn’t believe that, and she looked away. _You’re a nurse, Raynia,_ she chided herself, _you HAVE to get this checked out._

She saw Jax frown out of the corner of her eye. “Okay,” he said. But he didn’t believe her either, and Raynia knew it.

“Get some rest, then,” Jax said softly, running a gentle hand across her back. Raynia remained silent a moment, then gulped and made a decision.

“Jax—”

The lights flickered then, and the ground shook ever so slightly.

Jax’s eyes narrowed. “What was that?”

The speakers in the room clicked on with a pop. “Commanders!” Arin called. “Please check the surveillance!”

Jax jumped to his feet and clicked on the nearest computer console. Raynia wrestled the ice packs off her foot and yanked her boot on.

“Raynia?” Jax’s tone was tight, and she looked over to see him standing rigid. She swung off the table and hurried to his side.

“What is it?” She looked at the display and gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. She stared at the screen for a long moment, her heart thudding in her chest.

“What do we do?” she whispered. She looked up at Jax, who stood stock-still, his eyes wide.

“Red alert,” he said, his voice strained.

Raynia gulped and took a deep breath. Her hand hovered trembling over the button on the comm unit.

Jax reached out and grasped her other hand. She looked up at him, and he nodded.

Raynia hit the button. “Attention Delta Base three-two-twenty-one. All personnel proceed to Red Alert.” She swallowed. “An unidentified vessel has landed three miles from the base. Stand by for further instruction.”

She ended the transmission and hurried with Jax out of the infirmary. But she paused at the door and looked back at the screen, at the shining, metallic green lion lying smoldering in the woods.

**Author's Note:**

> According to Animal Planet, “[W]hen you're pregnant, all the hormones flooding your body are likely to alter your scent somehow. Not much gets by the canine nose, so there's a chance your dog caught wind of a change in you -- maybe even before you did.” (http://www.animalplanet.com/pets/do-dogs-know-when-i-am-pregnant/) So the wolf smelled the change in Raynia (Raynia’s pregnant, she just didn’t realize it yet), which is why it was acting so weird. Raynia suddenly smelled like a wolf cub, which is why the wolf didn’t attack.


End file.
